Food for Dental Health

I thought about putting this with the dry food thread, but realized my situation is VERY different from the original poster's, so I decided to start a new thread.

My cat is very skinny, although it might be fine for her age -- I'm not sure (6 lbs/8 months).  The vet didn't say anything about her weight.  She doesn't have any problems eating wet food, so today, after reading everything, I've started her on all canned food.  I don't expect it to be a problem.

I'd love to go to a raw food diet, but I'm a teacher still paying off my college tuition, and I really can't afford a grinder right now.  Maybe next year.

My cat has juvenile gingivitis, so my primary concern about her health is her dental health.  To that end, I'd been giving her dry food, per the recommendation of my mom and her vet (who's also my vet, but who didn't say anything to ME about that).  Now, I know that won't really help, so I stopped, and I'm looking for other solutions.

I've read Dr. Pierson's articles, so I know the best thing food-wise for dental health is to have chunks of muscle meat or gizzards, which she mixes (occasionally) into her raw food.  Has anyone tried mixing it with wet food or giving it to the cats separately?  I'm also planning to brush her teeth, but my vet didn't say anything about that and Dr. Pierson's site said to make sure her mouth is healthy before starting, so it looks like I can't use that to help with the gingivitis:  it's too late

If this doesn't get treated early, she could lose her teeth, so I'm really hoping for help.  The antibiotics don't seem to be working.

You can mix raw food with wet food, but just make sure you do not leave it out for 30 min. You could give her chunks of raw meat as a treat too, my kitten loves it. Chicken necks and wings are also really good to help clean their teeth. 

I would ask the vet about brushing. I personally would start brushing right away. 

I have heard the CET dental chews are supposed to be better than greenies and I also found this catnip chew toy that looks pretty interesting ()

I'd really like to know if feeding the cat raw chicken wings would put the cat into a bigger risk of contracting worms or diseases?

I'm very interested in feeding raw chicken wings (maybe once or twice a week?) for dental reasons but i'm worried about worms and diseases.

peugeot206 said:

I'd really like to know if feeding the cat raw chicken wings would put the cat into a bigger risk of contracting worms or diseases?

I'm very interested in feeding raw chicken wings (maybe once or twice a week?) for dental reasons but i'm worried about worms and diseases.

Click to expand...

Worms are located in the intestines so your cat can not get them from eating the wings. Here is a vet talking about how cats do not get worms from eating raw diets

Wings -- I could do that.  That would be supplemental, right?
 

RavenCorbie said:

Wings -- I could do that.  That would be supplemental, right?
 

Click to expand...

Yes

Yep. Just feed the middle part and last bone of the wing (technically called the wingette and wing tip). For many cats, you have to cut them up to get them started. But they're small bones that are soft, and easy to cut with kitchen shears.

Great!  I'll put wings on my shopping list.  I can eat the drummettes myself, so they won't go to waste.  I couldn't find the right kind of toothbrush at either of our pet supply stores, but I ordered one (and toothpaste) from Amazon.  I'll definitely ask my vet about the brushing.  Our next visit is tomorrow afternoon/evening.  I've been getting Iris used to having me touch her inside her mouth (outer edge of teeth).  She still doesn't like it, but she's getting used to it.  I hope that will help when I want to start brushing.
 

When first using the toothbrush, try putting meat babyfood on it at first. It helps them associate the toothbrush with tasty things. :lol3: When you can "brush" the teeth with babyfood, then switch to the toothpaste stuff, and give a treat afterwards.

I was planning to follow the steps in the video on Dr. Pierson's site.  But I'll definitely think of using some kind of tasty stuff first to get her used to the brush!  Thanks for the tip.

I just wanted to add an alternate food idea: chicken gizzards. They have no bone, but are tough. They can be fed raw, or seared quickly on the outside. These make GREAT chews for cats for anyone concerned about bone.

FYI, I was worried about the bone at first. But I found the courage, and offered wings. :lol3: I did have to cut them up as described above, but thought I'd explain how cats eat them. The bone, first of all, is actually soft and pliable. You can feel this when you cut it with scissors. It's not at all like cooked bone. And when they eat them, they pick them up in their mouths and just ... chomp on them. The bone inside the skin and meat, so there really aren't "pokey" parts to worry about. Basically they break up the bone inside of the skin/meat "package," and swallow it - and then the gastric juices do the rest of the work.

But gizzards are a really good alternative to get that "scraping" on their teeth.

I also find this video on brushing teeth from Cornell Vet Medicine very helpful. http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet-owners/cat-teeth/entire-video

Yes, that's the video I meant to say.  I've been thinking about gizzards, too.  And I usually give her chunks of raw meat before I season it when I'm cooking, which is almost every day.  I make sure to stay in small amounts, though, as I know it's not a complete meal.

RavenCorbie said:

I'd love to go to a raw food diet, but I'm a teacher still paying off my college tuition, and I really can't afford a grinder right now.  Maybe next year.

Click to expand...

If the grinder is the only thing in your way, you can use a premix to supply the calcium and put raw meat sans bones in the food processor. I did it that way for a while, it's very easy. Of course buying the premix is an additional expense. You can also use supplements, making sure you use a calcium source. I don't know all the supplements, you'd have to go to the raw forum for that. But just wanted to let you know raw is possible without the grinder.

vball91 said:

I also find this video on brushing teeth from Cornell Vet Medicine very helpful. http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pet-owners/cat-teeth/entire-video

Click to expand...

Awesome video.  I am brushing my cats teeth periodically, but not every day. I use one of those blue "soft finger"-type brushes though, they seems to tolerate the process better. Tried several types of toothpastes, they clearly prefer "Nylabone" brand, tartar control variety - I think it is peanut flavored...

Yeah, this was one of the first posts I made, before I even KNEW about Frankenprey and commercial raw.  I thought Dr. Pierson's recipe was the ONLY way to do raw.  Obviously, I've learned more since then!  Right now, I'm doing commercial raw, and planning to transition to Frankenprey once I've done more research.  I have a whole window of tabs open to read through at some point, including the CatCentric site, to make sure I'm doing it right.  In the meantime, I'm thinking of getting some Call of the Wild for meat only and supplementing chunks of raw meat with it, to include more proteins and to include more chunks for tooth health.  And gizzards!

And yes, I love that video, too.  It makes it so much easier (although, we're still on Step 2, and my cat STILL hates it when I put the toothpaste on her teeth.  I'm definitely going to do the baby food thing with the toothbrush step (Step 3)).